4 ordered to pay fines for Wyoming ski violation last winter

AP-WY--Skiers Cited

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Four skiers have been ordered to pay fines for illegally leaving a Wyoming ski boundary and entering an area of Grand Teton National Park that had been closed because of avalanche danger last February.

Two of the skiers had to be rescued after becoming lost.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports that Andrew Richards of Jackson, Ruth Schwietert of Jackson, Natalie Burns of Breckenridge, Colorado, and Joseph Higgins of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, all ended up pleading guilty to violating an emergency closure. Richards also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

All four received varying terms of unsupervised probation and fines and fees.

National Park Service officials said the incident put rescuers at unnecessary risk because of the dangerous backcountry avalanche conditions at the time.